Patriots' Receiving Corps Ranked Among League's Worst
If you need a reminder as to why the New England Patriots appear to be at the forefront of the sweepstakes for free-agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, a new breakdown of their current group of pass catchers should give you a pretty good indication.
Pro Football Focus recently ranked the receiving corps of every team, a list that took into account wide receivers, tight ends and any other players who function as pass catchers. New England checked in at No. 29:
"The Patriots moved on from Jakobi Meyers but were able to replace him with JuJu Smith-Schuster. They also have Tyquan Thornton, Kendrick Bourne and DeVante Parker. We need to take into account Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki, but overall, it’s just not a group that strikes much fear in the eyes of defensive coordinators. Only Parker and Smith-Schuster earned a 70.0-plus receiving grade in 2022."
We recently listed Gesicki as one of the NFL's top bounce-back candidates, given that he had 700+ receiving yards for the Miami Dolphins in 2020 and 2021, before proving not to be a fit in head coach Mike McDaniel's offense in 2022. He and Hunter Henry should given the Patriots their best tight end duo since Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.
Still, there's not a ton to get excited about from the wide receivers. Smith-Schuster and Parker are years removed from looking like No. 1 wide receivers. Bourne had a career-high 800 receiving yards in 2021, but regressed to 434 a year ago. Thornton caught 22 passes in his rookie season. As is, the Patriots definitely lack a No. 1 wide receiver, and it's fair to wonder if Smith-Schuster wouldn't be better cast as a No. 3 option among the wideouts.
So as quarterback Mac Jones enters a crucial third season, the Patriots may be the team with the most-pressing need for a player like Hopkins. The three-time All-Pro might not be the superstar he once was, but Hopkins would unquestionably be the No. 1 wide receiver for the Patriots immediately.
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